Coming Home
by Random Ravings
Summary: Rose has finally found a way back home, after finding out that she couldn't age. The Doctor and Clara have been becoming best friends on the TARDIS lately. Sequel to Ghosts of Companions Past 11/Rose goodness
1. Chapter 1

Rose Tyler had been in her original universe for about 5 years now, immortal, not aging one day because of the remnants of the Time Vortex still swirling about in her veins. When the cracks in the universe had come over to Pete's World, she had found one that led to Earth in her home world. As she stepped through that crack, she vowed to leave behind all the heartache that had plagued her in that universe; the pain of loosing her whole family, watching her little brother surpass what looked like her age. Her last thought in that universe was of her baby brother Tony, old and with a rather large family of his own. Some part of her knew that would be her last visit she would have with him, so she had hugged him longer than usual, and whispered her goodbye. Her new start would be in her original universe. It was time to not dwell too deeply on the pain of forever and loosing the ones you love. Rose was always the bounce back type, but a part of her always mourned for the human Doctor she called John.

Once on the other side, she found Jack at Torchwood. That in itself was an adventure. Once he realized it was her, he pestered her with questions, and once he had found out that the Doctor had left her in the alternate universe, he was angry with him for a long time. Even when she explained that he had left her with the human Doctor, thinking he was giving her what she wanted, Jack was still angry with him for not running tests on her. She told him that she hadn't aged one day since she had helped the Doctor stop the stars from going out. She explained to him that John had run scans on her before he passed away, confirming that her aging process had been slowed to almost nothing. John had told her that she would age eventually, but not so in a way she could track or visibly see without scanners and proper equipment only found on the TARDIS. She had also found that she couldn't die by conventional means either, after a particularly messy mission she had gone on for Torchwood in the parallel universe. When John had first passed away, she had gotten reckless with her life and decided to test just how eternal she was. She had been drown, shot, shot with a dalek's laser, burned, and a million other gruesome deaths, but however many ways she tested, she woke with a gasp with everything in order 5 minutes after each attempt. She was never truly suicidal, just simply, uncaring what happened to her. It was a few years after all her tests, that she seemed to come to her senses and resumed her work at the Torchwood on the other side. Which not long after had she found the crack in space and time.

After all the questions and telling the tale of now immortal Rose Tyler, she asked to work with Jack.

"C'mon Jack, I worked with Torchwood in the other universe for years and years. Plus I've run with the Doctor long enough, I think I could be a real asset to you," she had said with her cutest pouty face she could muster at the time.

"Even if we do let you, what name will you go under? Your real name is already in the archives as deceased," he responded with a half smile.

"Olca Raca. That name," she responded with a hidden smile, remembering the Doctor's proclivity for Tolkein works.  
Jack raised his eyebrows at her, and then shrugged; pulling Rose into one of the biggest bear hugs he had ever dealt out, "It's good to have you back Rosie."

She laughed, "It's good to be back, but you're going to have to start calling me Raca."

"If you say so!"

And so for five years she worked with Jack in Torchwood, people coming and going, but the two of them, as an immortal sibling type duo, were always there. Funny, when Rose thought back on it, their relationship to the literal senses, was more like mother and son, considering she was the one who had granted him immortality, but that story had long since been forgotten. She could honestly say it was nice work, it involved aliens and running, two of the four things she had always loved about traveling with the Doctor. The only things missing from it was the time travel and the Doctor's hand to hold. Despite that, it was good working with Jack, a familiar face that wouldn't leave her. Eventually she started to go on field missions with her own team, branching out everywhere. Certainly there weren't alien encounters in _just _Cardiff after all.

Meanwhile, on the TARDIS, the Doctor and Clara had been engaged in an unmatched chess game.  
"Hah! Not so clever now are you Doctor!" Clara exclaimed.

"I am extremely clev-argh!" he responded immediately being thrown backwards, the chess set clattered all over his chest.

"What is your wonky ship doing now!" she yelled.

"No idea! She does this sometimes when we have to go somewhere important!" He shouted over the sound of the time rotor rumblings, while trying to get to the console room on wobbly legs.

In the telepathic link between the Doctor and the TARDIS it felt as if she had found something she had been searching for a very long time and couldn't wait one more second to return to it. When he asked her what it was that was so important, it almost felt like if she had a face, she would purse her lips, shake her head and keep running her way through the vortex.

As soon as he and Clara reached the console room, the TARDIS came to a riveting stop, forcing the two to slam into the chrome floor.

Clara groaned from her place on the floor, "Its like she WANTS to kill us!"

"Nah, not my TARDIS, she's a good old girl, bit over eager at times, but she always knows where to take me." The Doctor, once again questioned his beloved ship telepathically, and again she didn't answer him, but urged him to open the doors and step out. He hesitantly went towards the doors when suddenly, his beautiful ship couldn't wait any longer. The TARDIS threw her doors open and shoved the Doctor out as she had many times before, then swiftly closed them tightly, not allowing her thief back in without the prize she had so quickly come for.

Clara began to beat on the doors, "Doctor! She won't let me out!"

He began to lift himself off the grass he had fallen on, as he had fallen on his face, "Don't worry, Clara! There's obviously something here I have to do! Just hold tight! Be back in a bit!" he reassured her, as he looked around and spotted an interesting place with low volume music humming out of the open doors across the street from where he had fallen.

He felt an urgent mental push from the TARDIS towards the pub. "All right, old girl, time to find out what has your knickers in a twist," he told her, and with a final pat on the side of her doors, he took off towards the place.

When Clara heard the Doctor's footsteps fading, she felt a strange phrase pull at her lips. She tried to hold it in, but it felt like the words were being pulled from her mouth. Completely confused, Clara let slip the strange phrase, "Bad Wolf."

Once inside, he looked around, finding nothing out of the ordinary; nothing that would have made his silly beloved time ship bring him here so frantically. So he settled to have a drink at the bar. The place looked American, from what he could tell. Oh how he wished he had his fizzy straw, he thought when he sat down at the bar.

Rose had just topped off a mission in San Diego, California, of all places, and decided to get a drink at a pub, or _bar_,as the American's called it, that she had seen while chasing the alien in disguise earlier. She was parched, so she sidled in, and grabbed a stool next to a weirdly dressed man. He looked as if he was a real space case, with a Victorian suit, and a funky bowtie. She rolled her eyes, there were always weirdos here, and she mentally shrugged.

It wasn't until she asked the bartender for a drink, did the man beside her show any signs of noticing is surroundings.

"Oi!" she called to the tender tiredly, "D'ya have any ale?"

The man beside her instantly tried inhaling and exhaling his drink at the same time.

She looked at him weirdly as he spluttered and coughed into his drink, "You alright there, mate?"

He coughed a few more times and replied weakly, "Ah, yes. Just fine, top notch."

She gave him a brilliant smile, "Ahh you're a Brit then? Nice to find someone else from my country."

He didn't reply, just stared at a face he thought he would never see again.

"Alright there? Er...what's your name?" she asked waving a hand in front of his face.

In a sudden movement, the man grabbed her face and began kissing her with the slow passion of a man starved and her kiss was sweet nourishment. His floppy fringe brushed her forehead, and his hand tangled gently in her hair. His kiss wasn't violent; on the contrary, it was so gentle, it felt as if he were treating her as porcelain, and it was mesmerizing. She hadn't been kissed in so long, which she considered an accomplishment, living with Jack Harkness, and it was enjoyable, to be kissed by this total stranger. She let herself reach up and touch his prominent jawline, and heard him make a sound of happiness and release in the back of his throat. She felt herself give a happy sigh in response to his noise. His kiss remained gentle, and her mind remained happily befuddled and fogged, that is, until the bartender cleared his throat.

Her eyes flew open, what was she doing? Normal people don't kiss total strangers they meet in bars! Not without at least knowing their names first! She began to push on his shoulders, and he released her.

"What the hell was that for?" she asked, incredulous.

He didn't answer, his hearts beating double time, as if they were going to burst inside his chest. He licked his lips, if only just to get a taste of her, already missing the sensation of their lips melding.

She stared at him expectantly, waiting for his answer, while simultaneously surveying him. He was handsome, she decided, with a square jaw and a fringe that flopped to the side. What caught her attention was his eyes; they were bright green and glimmered with hidden age, fear, and, for some reason, something familiar.

She moved on, "Alright, what's your name?"

**A/N So, I'm actually pretty proud of this chapter, I spent like two days working on it. And I actually put some serious effort in it. So will the Doctor avoid telling Rose his name? What about Clara? Why won't the TARDIS let her out? What will Rose do if she finds out he's the Doctor? Next chapter is gonna be interesting 3**


	2. Finding Out It's Him

**A/N I just want to say thank you for everyone who reviewed, favorited, and followed this story. It's been one of my favorites that I've come up with so far. The reviews and follows really help, it definitely lets me know that you guys want to read more of this story. And feel free to give me your ideas and thoughts about it.**

On the TARDIS, Clara sat with her back against the doors, "Come ooon," she moaned, bumping her head against them.

That damn phrase was forcing its way out of her mouth again, and no matter how much she pursed her lips, it always found a way out, "Bad Wolf. Ugh, what does that even mean? Come on! Let me out! I have to go find the Doctor!"

Suddenly she heard an audible click and the doors fell open behind her. Of course Clara, who was sitting against the doors fell backwards and hit her head on the grass outside.

"You did that on purpose!" she huffed at the time machine as she picked herself off the ground, rubbing her head.

The TARDIS made a sound as if she were laughing, and a swoop of air came from within her and nudged Clara out. She knew her thief would need help telling her Wolf the truth.

Clara looked about, deciding to search the area for the Doctor. She started in a hat shop across the street.

* * *

In the bar, Rose was still waiting for the crazy man who kissed her, to spit out his name.

"Well?" she asked.

"Rory. Rory Williams," he said, wincing inwardly at lying to her.

She gave him a relieved smile, "Well, Rory, you are one hell of a kisser," she said as she took a sip from the beer the bartender brought her.

The Doctor's mind was whirring at 90 miles an hour, mostly thoughts of how soft Rose Tyler's lips felt against his own. But how could she have been here? He fiddled with his bowtie, as thoughts of her filled up his mind, her scent, her smile, the way she moved, the way she talked. He looked away from her still radiant face as tears pricked his eyes. _I thought I'd never see her again._ It was almost painful, how happy he was to see her again, but he knew he was a different man now than the one that she loved. He had to protect her, from himself, again. His heart had turned to ice since she had been gone from his life. He was no good for this pink and golden goddess Fortuna. He wouldn't taint her still radiant light with his icy heart ever again.

"Well, Rory, from what I remember of the bar scene, you normally mack on the girl you want to take home. Are you looking to take me home?" Rose questioned half jokingly.

"From what you remember? Aren't you a little young to be talking like someone so jaded?"

"Ah, I'm a lot older than you think I am, mate," she said with a half grin.

This ruffled his feathers and piqued his interest, "How old are you, then?"

She took another sip from her drink, "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

He shrugged and decided to change tack, "You seem like you've been through a lot."

"I have, but like my late husband used to say, allons-y! Gotta keep moving forward," she replied, fingering the wedding ring she kept on a chain around her neck

A pang in his heart reverberated. His clone was dead, and they had been married. Just how long had she lived without him? It was all his fault she didn't look any older than the last day he had seen her, and she had been alone, apparently much longer than she was letting on.

"How do you do it?" the almost childish question tumbled from his mouth.

"Do what? Keep moving forward?" she queried.

He nodded.

"I don't know really. I just...I've always thought that there wasn't much point in moping over the past you know? Sure the past is there for you to learn from, but if you focus on all your mistakes all the time, how are you ever going to remember the good stuff? My late husband was like that when I first met him, all hard, soldier-like, and so blinded by his guilt, he didn't think he was good enough for anyone anymore. But to me, he was the best man in the universe," she smiled faintly at the memory, while letting her finger slide around the rim of her glass. "Hey, I just realized I haven't told you my name, yet. Its Raca. Olca Raca."

The Doctor closed his eyes and struggled to keep the smile off his face. It was so silly that she would have chosen that name, from that language, and it was even more ridiculous that he should feel humorous about it, with all the terrible news she had just unwittingly gave him, but the snort that came from him was unmistakable.

"Oi, don't laugh at the girl you're angling to take home's name!" she said with a playful hit to his shoulder.

"Sorry, it's just...were your parents Tolkien fans?" he said fighting a battle with himself to remain solemn, and to keep that damn smile that kept creeping up, off his face.

She laughed at the idea of Jackie reading Tolkien and learning Elvish and being studious until her sides hurt, which didn't take very long, because Rose Tyler was still rather tired from her mission earlier, "I'm sorry, but if you knew my mum, you'd laugh too. Nah, mate, not allowed to tell you my real name!"

"Why?" he questioned, very curious.

She waited until the bartender had taken her now empty glass, refilled it, and brought it back to her to answer, "I work for a special organization, I have to use a field name all the time. It means Bad Wolf, in Elvish though, in case you weren't aware."

Suddenly a girl's head swiveled towards them, as if she had heard the magic words. The brunette bounced over to where Rose and the Doctor were sitting and immediately bounced into conversation, "Hello Doctor! So whatever is going on here has got her saying that weird phrase too? Come on then, what's happening? What's "Bad Wolf"?" she said curiously, as the Doctor visibly cringed.

"Clara! Haaa, I wasn't expecting you, I thought, uhm, the TARDIS wouldn't let you out, eh?"

Rose gasped, quickly taking in what the pretty brunette had just said. Her hand, that had already been wrapped around her drink, dashed him in the face with the liquid, she also felt her fist snake out and clock him in the jaw. She watched satisfied as he stumbled backwards, huffing as the sudden fury burned through her chest.

"Whoa, Doctor, what did you do to piss her off?" Clara asked.

"You lied," Rose told him, aware that the whole bar was watching them now, but didn't really have half mind to care. "You kissed me, and you lied. AND! You changed your face!"

"Wait a second? He kissed you?" Clara asked, watching the Doctor right himself, trying to wipe the liquid from his face.

She nodded, chest still heaving, "You must be his new companion. That's good, he shouldn't travel alone. My name is Olca Raca, means Bad Wolf in Tolkien Elvish." Rose stuck out her hand for the other woman.

Clara took it and shook her hand like old chums, "Right, my name is Clara, Clara Oswald. So I've been saying your name this whole time?"

Rose nodded, and the Doctor spoke, "So um, would you like to see the TARDIS?"

She ignored him, "Clara, would you show me the TARDIS? I've missed the old girl."

Clara was surprised at the turn of events, "Uhh sure," she responded, motioning for Rose to follow her. "So the Doctor, do you two know each other?"

"Yeah, used to travel together, long time ago," Rose responded, her snapfire fury slowly receeding.

"Wow, he must have picked you up young, right? How old were you?" Clara said, appraising the woman.

She smiled, remembering the first time the Doctor had grabbed her hand, "I was nineteen years old, when I met the Doctor. And my life was never the same afterward."

"But you only look about twenty one, hardly twenty two!" the other exclaimed as they reached the stretch of grass, where the TARDIS had been parked.

"Yeah that's a bit of a complicated and long story, but the skinny of it is, the TARDIS and I bonded, and I left words throughout time and space to lead myself to the Doctor. Now I can't age," Rose said, caressing the exterior of the time ship. "Hello, old girl, have you missed me?"

In response, she threw her doors open, and sent a wave of white relief, pink affection, and yellow love through her mental connection with her Wolf. _Welcome home Bad Wolf, my thief and I have missed you greatly._

"Oh, baby, I love what you've done with the place!" Rose said happily, stepping on to the TARDIS for the first time in many many years. She felt like she was finally home, after all the centuries she had lived, after being trapped in a parallel universe, after being married, then widowed, she was home. It was as if that wave of relief the TARDIS had sent her reverberated throughout her whole body. "D'ya still have my room?"

The time ship responded with a wave of green affirmation, and a happy sort of noise from the time rotor.

"Great! Can you help me get there?" the older asked.

The Doctor, who had trailed behind the two women, spoke up rather meekly, while tossing his coat on a railing close to the door, "I could show you if you like."

Rose promptly ignored him, stepping down into one of the hallways. There it was immediately at the end of the hallway, a wooden door among chrome. It was a pink door with golden flowers painted across it.

As she neared the door, she saw the TARDIS was writing something circular above the door, and it took Rose a moment to realize that she was writing her name in Gallifreyan. She smiled as she twisted and pulled on the gold doornob, "Thank you, Sexy."

"Oi! That's my name for her!" the Doctor protested from behind her.

Rose stepped over the threshold into her old room and sighed happily. Nothing had changed. It still looked the very same way she had left it that fateful day in Canary Warf.

She felt the Doctor take in a deep breath behind her, and she turned to him, resting her head against the door frame. She was ready to talk, at least a little to the man still out in the hallway.

"Rose," he said immediately, "I'm so so sorry about lying to you."

She gave him a wry smile, "Then why did you?"

He paused for a moment, "Because, I think I've tainted your life enough. I was trying to protect you."

She rolled her eyes, "Doctor, its like you've turned into an angsty teenage girl since I left. Was kissing me protecting me?"

"No..." he responded, eyes falling to the floor.

"Then why did you? Especially if you didn't want me to find out who you were?" she queried, half sarcastically.

"Because, I couldn't...stop myself. I haven't been..." he stopped.

Her eyes softened, "You haven't been okay in a long time, have you Doctor?"

He didn't respond, his eyes still glued to the floor.

She reached forward and brought his forehead down to her lips, "All right, stop moping. Everything will end up okay."

She released him and made to shut the door. He made a look as if to protest.

"Doctor! I have been chasing aliens all day! I need a shower, I need to call Jack, and I need a rest! Plus! I am still mad at you!" she told the Time Lord reproachfully.

He nodded and turned to leave

She had almost completely shut the door when she opened it again sticking her head through a crack, feeling as if she should leave him with something positive. She thought for a moment, and finally drug out her signature tongue touched smile, and said, "Doctor."

He turned towards her, a questioning look on his face, noticing the smile upon her face.

"Your bow tie," she said, and he reached up to fiddle with it, "I like it, it's cool," and with that she shut her door on the suddenly grinning thousand year old alien.

**A/N So, how will Clara react to having a former companion on board. Will Rose still love this new regeneration? Does the author need to stop being so cheesy with her OTP of 11/Rose? Which by the way, I try to write each character by the way I can hear them saying and see them doing in my head. I like to think everyone is very in character. Feel free to tell me what you think, or if you have a plot bunny you think would work really well with this story. UNTIL NEXT TIME.**


	3. Forgiveness and Echos

Rose leaned against her now closed door, blowing the strands of hair that had fallen in her face away. New Time Lord, right. No, she immediately thought, same Time Lord, new face. He was so different now! Of course, she should be used to that by now, she thought to herself. Right, have to call Jack.

She put the phone to her ear and waited for Jack to pick up.

"Heya Rosie!" he said brightly. "Your team called me a little while ago, said you got off somewhere!"

"Yeah, Jack, um well. You'll never guess who I ran into!" she said, cringing at her own cheesiness.

"Who's that? Did you find some handsome young fellow in a bar?" he said flirtatiously.

"Yes, actually. And it's someone we know," she replied, chagrined.

"Ooo, do tell!"

"Its the Doctor," she let the bomb drop, and waited.

"The Doctor. You met the Doctor in a bar?" he said, incredulous.

"Yep," she replied, popping the p.

"How? What'd you do?"

"Well, he's regenerated. So I didn't recognize him."

"Yeah? What happened when he recognized you?"

"Snogged the life out of me," she replied laughing.

"Seriously? Did he even tell you who he was?"

"No, just up and snogged me. Mind you, I didn't stop him. He's a really great kisser this time 'round," she told Jack still laughing at the hilarity of it all.

"Well then! Rosie give him the snog of his life from me please?"

"Ah, Jack, I don't know if I'm staying."

"What? I thought you would jump at the chance at traveling with him again!"

"He might have someone else now, Jack. I don't know what he's done in all this time we've been apart."

"Rose Marion Tyler! Do you honestly think he would kiss you if he had someone else?"

"Dunno, he did it with Reniette when we were supposedly together."

She heard Jack sigh heavily over the line. Those two were always at odds with each other when it came to telling each other their true feelings. "Rose Tyler, you and that man are going to be the death of me if you two just don't stay together for good this time."

"Oi! I was married to the man for forty years!" she exclaimed defensively.

"Yeah, the clone. Which might I remind you was part Donna Noble!"

"Hey! Don't you dare sully my late husband's memory!" she shouted angrily. She felt a deep twinge of pain at the reminder of watching her beautiful husband grow old without her.

"Look, Rose, all I'm saying is that I think you and alien boy belong together. Regardless of regeneration. I've seen him without you, back when he was in pinstripes. He was a wreck."

She bit her lip, uncertain, "He does seem pretty shaken up."

She heard another heavy sigh. "Look, do me a favor, okay? Just stay with him, just for a bit. Then, if it's too much, then come back. Deal?"

It was her turn to sigh, "All righ', I'll stay."

"Alright. Good luck, Rosie."

"How many times do I have to remind you to call me Raca?"

She heard him laugh, and she smiled in return.

"Bye Rose," she heard him say, and with a click, the line disconnected.

* * *

After her shower and a few hours rest, Rose decided to venture out onto the TARDIS to take a closer look around. The beautiful old girl sure had changed since she left. She decided to start in the console room, which was the most familiar place for her.

Of course she should have expected she would have run into her insomniac Time Lord.

"What are you doing up?" he asked when he noticed she had walked into the room.

"Exploring," she replied, easily. She stepped forward towards him, so they were within arms reach of each other.

She watched his hand twitch, as if to reach out to take her own.

"Ah," he said, breathing in deeply in nervousness. "Well she has changed a bit since you've been here."

"That's not all that's changed," she said, cheekily gesturing to his form.

"Yeah."

She let the conversation fall for a moment, she watched as his eyes darted from her, then to anywhere else. His hands fiddling with random things about the console. The silence between them bothered her, itched somewhere between her shoulder blades.

Then a thought occurred to her.

She quickly placed her hands on either side of his face pulling him down towards her to crush her own lips to his. It was unexpected, and he flailed his arms once, before coming up to snake around her just as tightly. Her tongue flicked out to trace the edges of his thin lips, enjoying the soft moaning sounds coming from the back of his throat. In the recesses of her mind, she marveled at how quickly he still responded to her. She let her hands release his cheekbones to slide forward, wrapping her arms around his neck in a desperate embrace. His hands had wandered down to the small of her back.

And as soon as the kiss began, it was ended.

She released him, and he grabbed her face, bringing her forehead to his own, breathing heavily.

She let herself catch her breath, allowing herself to enjoy the sensation of the pad of his thumb drag slowly over her cheek, before pulling away and saying, "That was from Jack."

His face flickered several emotions, blank confusion, disappointment, then sadness.

"Oh."

She allowed him to lapse into silence as he tinkered a little with the TARDIS, seemingly lost in thought.

"D'you want to show me around here? Instead of letting me get lost?" she finally asked.

His head snapped up, and slowly, but surely, a big gappy grin enfolded on his handsome face.

"SURE!" he shouted, excited at the thought of spending time alone with her.

"All right then, Mr. Enthusiastic, lead on!" she smiled.

It seemed like they spent hours together, exploring the time ship. He made her laugh, she made him smile. Somewhere between the library and the arcade, they fell into the same friendship that they had so many years ago, before everything got complicated. And between the visual media room and the library they began holding hands again.

When they got to the pool, she ended up shoving him in.

Soaking wet and spluttering, he shouted at her, with a gleam of laughter in his eyes, "What was that for?!"

She laughed, "For insinuating I slept with Jack!"

He climbed out of the pool, grabbing a nearby towel, mopping his face, "Well how was I supposed to know!"

She laughed even harder, "Come on then! Lets get you to the wardrobe, so you can change into dry clothes."

"Actually I have clothes in my bedroom. So, come on then back to your room?" he asked her.

She paused for a moment, "I've always wanted to see your bedroom. Can I?"

He thought for just a moment, considering her fake pouty expression, then finally, "I suppose it can't do much harm."

She smiled brilliantly, and took his hand again. And for a moment the both of them stared at their intertwined hands spellbound, surprised at how perfectly they still fit together even after everything that had happened.

She broke the spell by tugging on his hand, "Come on, room!"

He quickly began to lead her towards his room, mostly nervous about what she would think of his living quarters.

When they entered his door, she gasped at the pure majesty of it all. He had windows with a truly lovely view of the stars, his ceiling a calming blue color, his walls seemed to project an image of the terrain of whatever planet he wished to see. Currently they were in a clear forest, with red flowers all about them.

While she stood marveling over his bedroom, he rustled around in his wardrobe for his clothes, until she spotted something on his vanity.

"What is this?" she asked mischievously touching a golden dress, ignoring the pang in her heart at the implications. "A girl in your bedroom recently, Doctor?"

He stared at the dress, a precious memory, a reminder.

"No, not really," he said quietly.

"No?" she picked up the golden dress on his vanity, "Who's is this then?"

He didn't respond.

"Is it Clara's?"

"No."

"Come on, Doctor, you must think she's pretty."

"I never really thought about it," he said scratching his cheek.

"You must have had _some_ woman in here to have this thing in such a prominent place in your bedroom," she pressed. "Come now, who's is it."

"No one's."

The TARDIS intervened at that point, and turned the lighting a sharp red color.

"The TARDIS seems to think otherwise," she smiled.

"Just like you two, ganging up on me. Always did that to me when we were together in pinstripes," he said chagrined.

She poked him in the chest, "Who's dress is this?"

The Doctor seemed to dither for a moment, and then finally his resolve broke, "Look, you don't understand, I have lost a lot of things after you left my life. I have lost...people, people who meant something to me. And loosing these people...hurt."

"I understand, Doctor. But that doesn't explain who's dress this is," she told him dangling it in front of him.

"The TARDIS thought she would help me, after a particularly hard adventure, almost killed Clara, and it would have been my fault," he said, wiping his hand over his face in nervousness.

"Yes? And how did she help you?" Rose asked, her interests piqued.

"I was visited...by psychic echos of companions, as reassurance..." he replied.

"Yes? Come on, you're avoidin' the subject Doctor, who's dress is this?"

"Yours."

"What?"

"The dress is yours."

"How...How is this dress mine?"

"Dear? Will you show Rose a record of events in this room?"

His beautiful time ship flashed a green affirmative, and a figure flickered onto his bed.

It was himself, and it replayed the events that had gone on in his room months ago.

Rose watched a hologram of herself speak to the tearful Time Lord, in a golden dress, the exact one she was holding, now clenched in her fists.

_Oh, Doctor, I wish you could forgive yourself,_ she heard herself say. She watched as the Doctor, still crying, grabbed her holographic wrist and crushed his mouth to her own.

He watched himself too, almost enraptured at reliving the memory.

He was, in fact so enraptured with it, it wasn't until he saw himself release the dress from the hologram's body that he shouted, "TARDIS stop the recording!"

The program paused, the two images not far from each other, the dress almost slipping off of holo-Rose's body.

"What was that?" the real Rose asked.

The Doctor's face seemed to be bright red, and he looked anywhere but at her, "That was...a psychic remnant of you...comforting me."

"You shagged a holographic version of me?" she asked incredulous.

He seemed to swallow his embarrassment long enough to look at her and say, with earnest eyes, "Yes."

"Why?"

"Because," he paused, "I needed you."

She stared steadily at him, half in shock, and very much touched.

"Did you do this often?"

"No. It was just the once."

She was silent for a while.

"You told me that you'd always be there for me when I needed you most," he said suddenly.

"I did?"

"Yes. You forgave me, too."

"For what?"

"For hurting you. For leaving you. For not being human."

"I'm old, Doctor, very old. I forgave you a long time ago. I never held on to any of those things, I never understood why you did," Rose told the Time Lord.

"It was just another way I failed you, that's why. I could never get it right, and you...you were..."

"I was what, Doctor?"

"You were something more than special to me."

To his surprise, she began to smile again, albeit it was a more mangled version of his favorite one, "Still can't say it can you?"

His head dipped forward to stare at his still soaking brown shoes.

A voice quite unlike her own slipped out, "It's alright, Doctor. Times have changed, don't worry about it."

He opened his mouth to say something to her.

She reached up slowly, pressing her lips to his soft cheek.

"Thank you for showing me your bedroom, Doctor," she whispered into his ear, and with that, she slipped out of his room.

**A/N: **I am SO sorry that this took so long to update, this chapter really was a bitch to me. Also if you'd like to follow my progress on writing this story, I do regular updates on it's status at doctorrose-andotherfandoms . tumblr dot com /tagged/coming-home Also I do ask for ideas sometimes, so if you have them feel free to tell me. 3 Also also, in this chapter refers to the prologue to this series which I have written when this chapter was being a bitch. It's called "Ghosts of Companions Past" if you'd like to read it (its got smut) **UNTIL NEXT TIME**


	4. Only Plugged in to Save Rock and Roll

**This chapter was inspired by "Save Rock and Roll" by Fall Out Boy feat. Elton John.**

It was a few days of avoiding each other, before the Doctor and Rose saw each other again. They met up in the console room where he and Clara were already discussing where they were going to go next.

When she walked in, he abruptly stopped speaking, and looked at her. She stared back.

It was Clara that broke the tense silence, "Hello! Haven't seen you in a while!"

"Yeah. So where are we going? Anyone made a decision yet?" she asked, her gaze switching to Clara.

"No, not yet. We can't decide," Clara told the blond.

Rose walked towards the console, caressing the edges, as she looked at the lovely time rotor, "What do you think old girl? Where should we go?"

The time ship replied with a sky blue color, and turning the controls all on her own, as her passengers held on tightly when they plunged through the vortex.

When they finally stopped, Rose was the first to step out of those beautiful blue doors. They appeared to be on the top of a cliff, behind them appeared to be a forest full of beautiful exotic birds and creatures beyond human imagination.

Rose walked to the edge of the cliff to look out across the precipice, shoving her hands in her jeans, enjoying the feeling of the wind whipping her hair behind her. She watched strange birds resembling pterodactyls fly to the other side of the fissure where a large beautiful waterfall deposited into the ravine below. Her head tilted upwards, towards the planet's sun warming her face, surveying the sky above. She breathed in the atmosphere deeply, filling her lungs with another planet's air, happily curling her toes in her trainers, thinking about the new ground beneath her feet. She stood for a moment her right foot on an elevated piece of rock, listening to her own heartbeat, the breeze caressing her face, taking everything in.

Clara came to stand beside her to take in the great beauty of the scene as well.

"You know even 154 years after traveling, with my late husband in our own TARDIS, on my own, and with that nutter. Even now, it still makes me happy to feel a new ground beneath my feet," Rose murmured to Clara.

"It never stops feeling like this?" the brunette asked.

"Never," the blond replied.

At that moment, the Doctor came behind them to wrap their arms around both women's shoulders, "Great view, eh?"

Rose almost let herself cuddle into his side, almost allowing herself to feel happy being by his side again. Almost, but not quite. "Doctor, where are we?"

He released their shoulders to step in front of them, index finger up as if he had a great idea, "That is an excellent ques-" suddenly his arms were like windmills, his feet slipping over the edge of the cliff.

Rose rolled her eyes and almost like reflex, her hand flashed out, jerking his body back towards herself, tossing him to the side with the force she had to use to bring him back.

Like a cat with bad balance, his limbs seemed to tangle up in themselves, as he fell in front of the TARDIS doors, skidding up dirt in the process.

She watched him get up slowly, righting himself and dusting the dirt off his dress pants, "Do the universe a favor, you moron, watch where you step," she told him.

"Yes...How did you...?"

"Forty years married to a clone of your previous form, plus years of Torchwood training, you pick up a few things," she said with a small smile.

"Oh."

"Come on then, lets explore!" she said while taking off running towards the woods.

The Doctor took just a moment to stare after her retreating form, before looking at Clara, grabbing her hand, and running after Rose.

Once further into the forest, Rose found a village full of alien scientists, seemingly harmless. She heard the Doctor and Clara clambering through behind her, so she darted forward, trying to glean more information.

She came up to one of the strange creatures, "Hello! My name is Raca. What have you guys got going on here?"

She saw the scanner in its' hands point towards her, and before she knew it, the aliens had out cuffs.

In a lightening fast movement, Rose had out her blaster, armed and ready for a fight.

"You are female," said one of the unidentifiable aliens that had gathered in a circle around her.

"Yeah? And?" she asked, bracing herself for misogyny.

"You have no male escort?"

She sighed, "He's around here somewhere. He's a bit slow when he's found something he finds fascinating, which is likely what happened. Poor Clara's probably bored out of her mind."

Right on cue, Clara appeared at the edge of one of the structures. Her eyes were wide scared for Rose, and she took a step forward, as if she meant to help.

_Damn, where is that man?_ Rose thought. She looked pointedly at Clara and shook her head infinitesimally, trying to let her know not to come any closer.

Unfortunately she didn't get the hint, and before she knew it, Rose was disarmed and both women were thrown into a jail cell. It was a reasonable size, with a cot on one side of the room, and a sink on the other. Rose looked out of the bars encasing them and stared down the white hall.

"Damn," Rose said, frustratedly walking away from the bars. She ran her fingers through her hair, mussing the blond locks she had tamed into submission when she had awoken on the TARDIS. "Where was he when you left him?"

"He got really interested in one of the weird contraptions and I just wanted to explore. That's when I found you," she said, confused.

"Apparently, these aliens believe women should always be escorted by a man. Which is why we are here until they can find someone to escort us, or until they leave this project."

Clara looked at her, alarmed, "Why though?"

"Probably because they have a species that have very weak females, that actually need escorts. Or maybe they slave trade women. Or perhaps they just believe women are the weaker sex. I'm honestly hoping its the first one."

"So, what do we do in the meantime?"

"I vote for looking for a way out of this cell," Rose replied.

They both nodded to each other and peered around the cell for an escape route.

"So, uh, your husband? What was he like?" Clara asked, trying to sound disinterested.

"He was the Doctor," she said wistfully.

"What do you mean?" Clara asked, curiosity leaking into her voice.

Rose sighed and decided she should talk about it. She told the younger woman about her first meeting with the Doctor, how his face was different then. All black leather, jumpers, and the widest grin she had ever seen, and he was hers. She told her about their adventures together, how she would flirt with other boys just to get his attention. He taught her about courage and curiosity, and she taught him how to love again. And then the Daleks came, and he tried to send her home. But she couldn't...she just couldn't let him die on his own, so she touched time itself for him. She became a goddess of time, the Bad Wolf, to scatter words across time, space, even dimensions to lead herself to him. It almost killed her, but he saved her. Her Doctor saved her. Then he changed. He changed his face, and he was younger, more energetic, and perfect for her. And they fell even more in love as they adventured. But then they got separated, by a whole dimension, and they said goodbye without saying they loved each other, before they got the chance.

She told the younger woman how she threw herself into her work at Torchwood on the other side, tirelessly seeking a way to return to the man she loved. How things got worse as she watched the stars going out, and finding out the plot to end the multiverse. How she traveled for ages, in different dimensions, looking for the right one, and once she did get to the right one, it took her ages to find the damn man. And when they found each other again, their reunion was cut short by a damn Dalek. When he was dying, he took the rest of his regeneration energy and put it into his hand, that had been cut off during the regeneration process of her first Doctor. Her husband grew from that. And they saved the multiverse.

Then the Doctor dropped her off back in the parallel universe, promising that they would have a great life together. And he left them there. And they were fantastic together.

Rose found once she had gotten started talking about John, she just couldn't stop. She told Clara how they dated properly for about a year, how he became a professor for a few years. Then they got married. Rose teared as she told her how wonderful John looked, and how they both cried as they said their vows to each other, and he slid a beautiful TARDIS blue ring on her finger. They started their life together and it was beautiful. It was only when they tried to have children that he noticed something was wrong. He did thousands of scans on her and himself. It was years before he even found a trace, but it was there. Remnants of the time vortex were there in her very DNA, and she couldn't age.

She was heartbroken when she found she couldn't father his children, and couldn't age with him. It was awful, as if she were truly barren. But somehow they made it work, and everything was okay for a few years. Until his age started to show.

It started with a few grey hairs, which he laughed about, and killed her on the inside. He aged, she stayed the same. The day she realized he was all salt and pepper, and looked like he was her sugar daddy, she locked herself in her bedroom and cried for hours. They went through her parents' funeral together, both heartbroken when Jackie and Pete passed away. He held her and comforted her, until she started to hide it all away. The grief was crushing her, and what else could she do other than what her Doctor had taught her? She put on her brave face for John, and decided to keep loving him until he left her.

They stayed together until his final days. She held his hand while he went, and he told her he loved her one last time. His last request was for her to find a way to the other universe, to find him again. And she did, she worked so hard to find a way out of that damned universe. She left out mentioning all her experiments on her mortality.

Sometimes, when the research was all too much, she would go to John's grave and sleep there, just to be close to him. When she did that, it was usually her brother Tony that found her and took her home.

Not long after she had seen her grand-nieces and grand-nephews get married, did Tony get sick. He had lived such a long time with Rose, he was an old man then. She came to visit him in the hospital every day after work.

Months after Tony stabilized, the crack in the universe showed up. It appeared on that damned wall that had separated them that first time. She ran so many scans on it, she had lost count after a while. When she finally realized that it was her ticket out of this universe, she made plans to tie up all her loose ends. She made her predictable farewell tour, seeing her brother last.

And with only a duffel bag on her shoulder and her past behind her, she vowed that going back would be her new start, that she would find Jack and build a new life.

When she came to the conclusion of her story, Clara had given up trying to find an escape route. She was sitting on the small cot, almost floored at her story. "Wow. Just wow, all of that...?"

Rose nodded, and they both jumped when they heard a rattle of a set of keys and a familiar voice talking to the alien warden that had thrown them both in the jail.

"Sorry, just got distracted, they must have wandered off!" the Time Lord who's voice that sentence belonged to came into view. "Hello!" he said brightly.

Rose's jaw was set tight, something about his cheery voice grated on her just then.

"Just like old times, eh Rose?" he told her, elbowing the air as if he had just told the most hilarious joke in all the universe.

And just like that, her irritation dissipated for the moment, "Enough like old times to make me want to smack you," she shot back as the keys rattled in the lock.

Clara stepped out first, hugging the Doctor, letting him kiss her forehead.

Then Rose stepped out of the cell, straightening her clothes and checking her face for any stray tear tracks that might have been on her face from her storytelling. She noticed his hand was outstretched towards her, and she stared at it for a moment before grabbing it and looking up at him.

He smiled at her for just a moment before pulling her close and hugging her, for only a few seconds before hearing a huge rumble that shook the ground beneath their feet.

Rose pulled away and eyed him suspiciously, "Tell me that had nothing to do with you."

He gave her a guilty grimace.

She took off down the hall, with him and Clara hot on her heels.

"That was a huge seismic wave! What the hell would have caused it?! DOCTOR!" Rose shouted over her shoulder.

"I might have tinkered with a few of their drills that were trying to tap into the center of this planet!" he shouted back guiltily.

"Oh you-!" she pursed her lips against the expletives threatening to spew from her mouth, mostly cursing the Doctor.

They ran to the end of the hall to burst into what appeared to be a control room with a huge control board in front of a huge view screen at the front of the room.

"What the HELL did you do?!" Rose shouted.

**A/N: **Sorry to end on a bit of a cliffhanger. Anyways, this chapter definitely went through some hell. I almost scrapped it, and I almost put the whole story on hiatus. You guys really have noreallythisismyurl and living-in-my-fantasyworld on tumblr to thank. Maisy (noreallythisismyurl) pushed me to keep writing and living-in-my-fantasyworld has been there for me throughout the last three chapters, giving me feedback and all that.

Rose's attitude in this chapter came from the lines "I need more dreams, and less life, I need that dark, and a little more light", "I've cried tears you'll never see, so fuck you, you can go cry me an ocean and leave me be", also "You are what you love, not who loves you, in a world full of the word yes, I'm here to scream no". Those lines have really given me an insight to what Rose would be feeling right now.

Anyways, hope you enjoyed the chapter, and I hope to see you all again soon!


	5. What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

**A/N:** :shrieking forever: GOD THIS CHAPTER TOOK SO LOOOONG. But thank you, precious reader for continuing on reading my story. Tis one of my favorite brain children ever. Hope you like! I do have a CRAPTON of other chapters written, but they're all disconnected and disjointed, and I have to write to connect them. Sorry about the wait!

Through the rumblings of seismic waves, Rose was frantically pressing buttons on a control board in front of a huge view screen. She was muttering furiously to herself about knowing that the center of the planet was precious and holding almost extinct life hibernating until such time the planet could sustain their life again, but just turning off the drill without noticing that the planet needed a slight vibration now that it had compensated for the drill for so long, was folly at least.

"Oi!" she shouted at one of the aliens, pointing to the device the Doctor and Clara had been working on, "Toss that down the hole where the drill used to be, yeah? We have to get this planet stabilized before the gravity bubble disintegrates!"

The Doctor tightened a few more screws on the device and tossed it to the nearest alien with outstretched arms.

A group of them ran over to the open hole in the center of the room to watch the device be tossed in, hoping the stabilization would happen according to the Doctor and Rose's calculations.

When they finally heard the clink of metal hitting rock and the sound of a muffled implosion, Clara whooped and celebrated with the other aliens, who were, from Rose's observations, scientists.

Rose crossed her arms and smiled while observing the brunette, not noticing when the Doctor slipped beside her, mirroring her stance.

"Good job, eh? Nice to be back at saving alien planets?" he asked.

She jumped when she noticed he was beside her.

Composing herself, she responded, "Yeah, it's nice to be back at it, I suppose."

He smiled as her, his secret star imploding smile, that damn smile that seemed to transcend every regeneration.

For a moment, she let everything else in the universe fall away and just stared at the smile that had wiled her away from her mother, from her boyfriend, from her home. The man who had shown her the stars, with the smile that shook her whole world from the start.

She felt him grab the hand that was supposed to be tucked beneath her elbow, pulling her forward, into the white hall.

Suddenly Rose Tyler felt a clench in her chest following him, a pain hit her so fast and so hard that as soon as they were out in the hall, she dropped his hand to lean over.

The Doctor watched shocked slightly, as she held one hand on her knee and one over her chest, "What's wrong?" he asked quietly.

"I'm sorry... that was...I just...gimme a mo', yeah?" she replied breathlessly. What was with her nowadays? She had thought she was over being visibly pained over John's passing, much less past the point of being willing to share their love story with a virtual stranger. It was that stupid smile that reminded her so much of John. Why the hell did this still hurt? She thought she was over it, she wanted to start new when she came back to this universe. What was so special about being with the Doctor again that had derailed her progress? Her emotions were so all over the place here lately. She was a Torchwood agent, she shouldn't be having these problems.

He stepped towards her to place a gentle hand on her cheek, just for comfort, to let her know he was here for her.

Rose finally straightened, thinking that the sharp pain had passed.

In a quick movement the Doctor gathered her up into one of the biggest hugs he had ever given anyone in all of time and space. He breathed a sigh of relief just having her in his arms, and without thinking pressed his lips to her cheek briefly.

"Oh, Rose Tyler, I am so glad you're here," he breathed in a happy tone. "You're much different now than when we first traveled, but still, on the inside you're definitely the Rose I remember."

She wasn't sure how to react to this sudden display of emotion considering she had almost fallen apart in front of him, but still, it was nice to be held again.

For one moment, one shining moment, both of them relaxed against each other. They took in each other's presence and for one second, it salved the ache in both their hearts.  
Rose listened to his comforting double heartbeat, and felt his chest expand with his breathing. _This is the Doctor, _she thought. Her insecurities and uncertainties melted away for a moment, and she enjoyed being held by him again. He was different, but, oh god, he was still her Doctor.

As she made that realization, they heard doors slam open behind them, and they broke apart.

Clara was running from the now incensed scientists, yelling something about having said something rude by accident, and how annoying it was that no one told her not to say that.

They glanced at each other grinning, and he grabbed her hand.

Rose waited until Clara was close enough to grab her hand, and they ran. Oh did the three of them run. Their laughter trailed behind them, strange for people running for their life from angry locals bent on killing them. But one could guess, it was because things felt so normal. It was normal, being with the Doctor and running for your life. Rose would say it was one of the best parts about traveling with him.

Once they got into the TARDIS, Clara almost collapsed into giggles. The Doctor grabbed her head and placed a laughter filled kiss onto her forehead.

Rose was laughing too, and once again the Doctor gathered her up into a hug and placed a kiss on her cheek, internally sighing with joy again at the contact.

He then released Rose and hugged both his companions, taking in a deep breath. Finally the universe smiling on him. The girl he loves happy and laughing, and his wonderful companion finding new joys in the universe. What could possibly go wrong now?

"Hello sweetie," said a woman with wild hair.

And his heart dropped into his stomach.

**Cliffhanger forever!**


	6. You Should Have Told Me

**A/N: **Hello again readers! This chapter actually might seem like I'm making River out to be the bad guy. She's really not. I'm actually thinking of reshaping her character to give her more substance than canon River and then making them an OT3. Yep! You heard me! Definitely been bouncing that idea around for a long time. But I don't like canon River because she had so much potential and they kind of blew it, for me anyways. Plus Alex Kingston is a doll. But one is to be reminded that this is a primarily 11/Rose fic. Hope you enjoy! Feel free to tell me what you think!

* * *

"River," the Doctor said as he stood, stock still, his back still to her.

"Hang on, River? As in River Song?" Rose asked in awe, a deep pang in her heart in accompaniment.

"One and the same! I assume he's told you about me?"

"Sor' of. You're his wife aren't you?"

"His wife?" asked Clara, incredulously. "But I thought you were-?"

"Yes I am!" River smiled brightly. "And you are?"

"No one of importance. Doctor, could you take me back to Jack now?"

"Hello, River. What are you up to this time?" the Doctor finally turned towards the three women, ignoring Rose's request.

"I just thought I'd drop in and tell you I'm off to go visit a massive Library with my archeology team soon. I just got the assignment not long ago! Its going to be lovely! Although I don't go for a few more months! Although I'd really love to know who your companions are!" she asked Rose again.

"Would you like a lie or the truth?" she responded. Rose's merry mood had been dampened with the force of an ice cold bucket of water on a warm spring day. She was hurt, angry, and very very sad all at once. All her insecurities came rushing back to her like a tidal wave, all the pain of loosing John were rushing back to her and it was almost too much to bear.

How could this have happened. Not two minutes ago she was happy and they were laughing and Clara was brilliant. They were friends finally saving the universe together like they should. Oh that man should have told her that she was still around. Rose Tyler was not about to become "the other woman".

"Well naturally the truth, but very curious of why you would give a lie," River surveyed her, intensely curious.

"The lie? My name is Olca Raca, co-head of the Torchwood Institute, from around the beginning of the 21st century. If you want the truth, you'll have to ask him," she said one hand on her hip, the other, pointing to the Doctor.

The Time Lord quickly went to fiddle with controls on the console in order to dodge the question at hand, finding that they were suddenly, not there.

Rose noticed too.

Her frustration burst forth in a fiery rage at the TARDIS, her face turned upwards to shout at the ceiling, "OI YOU ARE NOT STRANDING ME HERE! YOU LET ME GO HOME DAMN YOU! I DON'T WANT TO BE STUCK HERE WITH THESE TWO NUPTIES! I SWEAR, YOU IF YOU DON'T LET ME GO HOME, I'LL...I'LL..."

The TARDIS responded with angry noises, and a great shudder in the console room.

"DON'T YOU DARE TURN THIS AROUND ON ME! I WAS COERCED INTO STAYING HERE ALRIGHT?"

The time ship made more angry noises shuddering so hard that River, the Doctor, and Clara fell to the floor, while Rose stubbornly remained standing, shouting at the ceiling.

"OH RIGHT NOW WITH THE GUILT! You're as bad as he is you are! I am leaving this room. Going to cool off," she tossed her last sentence over her shoulder, as she stalked towards an open hallway.

Until it wasn't there anymore.

Rose attacked the blank expanse of wall with her fists and feet, kicking and screaming mixed expletives of languages she had learned chasing aliens and English. The rush of fury that she just couldn't control, almost felt liberating to Rose. She wanted out, and she wanted out now. The pain in her heart was building, just seeing the woman that had married the Doctor, the real Doctor, there on the ship was the worst kind of pain she could imagine.

Clara was confused at best, it was like she had seen Rose turn into someone completely different in such a short time frame.

She stared bewildered at the Doctor, hoping for an explanation.

"Calm down, there's obviously a reason she won't let us leave," the very man in question tried to calm her, picking himself off the floor.

"YOU! You probably had something to do with this too! This wouldn't have happened if stupid Jack would have just let me go home in the first place! Damn you, all three of you," she said glaring first at him, then the ceiling.

The time ship made an angry noise from her time roter and gave a warning shake.

"Doctor?" River asked quietly, "Did she just have a row with the TARDIS? Your TARDIS?"

"Yes, it would seem so, wouldn't it?" he whispered back, just as floored as she was.

"Have you ever argued with her like that?"

"No, never like that. She hardly ever gets that angry with me. Normally I just shout and she ignores me," he whispered to her, jealousy coloring his words.

"You're jealous of arguing with the TARDIS?"

"Well yes, who wouldn't want my beautiful old girl to respond like that to them?"

"Why does she though? Respond like that to her?"

"Probably to do with her bond with the TARDIS. You began on the TARDIS, yes, but she became part of the TARDIS once, touched the untempered schism. Gave her something of a unique bond with the TARDIS, which is probably why she doesn't age anymore..."

"Oh, well wasn't that dangerous?"

"Yes, definitely," he said as they heard her beat on the wall once more, albeit halfheartedly.

"Please," they heard her whisper.

The TARDIS made a whining noise and the controls returned.

The Doctor hopped up immediately.

Rose's head snapped toward him, "Take me to Jack. Please," she said with a steely look in her eyes.

The Doctor fiddled with the controls, with a flick of a switch here and a turn of a handle there. Finally with a ding of a bell, he said, "There you go."

"This is the right planet right?" she said narrowing her eyes suspiciously.

He looked at the ceiling of his TARDIS guiltily, flicking another few switches and handling another couple of doodads.

"The right time line?" she said again, crossing her arms over her chest.

His face turned red and he kicked a few of the lower levers, and waited until the TARDIS landed, until he nodded.

"You're sure? It's only a few days after I left, right?"

His head bobbed forward, unable to look at her directly.

She gathered herself up with as much dignity as she could muster, and walked to the door.

With her hand on the door handle, she heard his voice from behind her, very small, very soft, and very heartbroken.

"Rose..."

She paused for just a moment, the pain hitting her so hard, she could feel the shards of her broken heart scrape at her ribcage.

She just couldn't stay in the TARDIS, not with his wife. She had fooled herself into thinking that he still loved her after all this time, when really, it was the shock of seeing her again. He had married, she knew, because John had told her about meeting her in the Library.

She had to show she had grown since he had left her on that beach. This was the best course of action in order to keep her already broken heart safe. She couldn't act the way she had with Sarah Jane, and she got the feeling this woman wouldn't be as understanding as Sarah Jane was.

Rose's head fell forward slightly, letting only a small breath that only the sharpest of ears would hear.

Breathless with pain Rose Tyler pushed forward on the doors, desperately anxious to remove herself from his presence, and stepped off the TARDIS.


End file.
